Research edition · Comparison · St Paul’s · Downe House
How do St Paul’s and Downe House compare on A-level grades at A*?
Comparison · A-level grades at A* · 2023–2026. Edition of 12 Nov 2026.
The answer
St Paul’s comes out higher than Downe House on the share of A-level entries awarded A* when the available years are compared. The same school comes out higher in every period we checked.
The figures
- St Paul’s
- Downe House
Each school against the same scale and years.
Exam eras: 2023–25; 2026. The rule beneath the axis marks exam conditions, not schools.
A break in a line means a year has no comparable figure; nothing is estimated. A hollow marker is a provisional figure the school may revise. The figures behind the chart are listed below.
| Year | St Paul’s (%) | Downe House (%) | Gap (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 50.6 | 27 | 23.6 |
| 2024 | 60.2 | 26 | 34.2 |
| 2025 | 59.3a | 22 | 37.3a |
| 2026 | 60 | 22 | 38 |
- a St Paul’s 2025: a dated review on 28 September 2026 found the printed 59.3% A* and 92.5% A*–A headlines on the school’s results page, but the subject table on the same page adds up to 701 of 759 grades at A*–A, which is 92.36%. What explains the difference, a different group of entries or another version of the page, is unresolved. The 759 is only the sum of the table’s rows: the school doesn’t give it as the base of its 92.5% headline, and we don’t treat it as one.
Figures to two decimal places at most. A figure known only within the school’s rounding is shown as a range, never as its lower end.
Read this with the answer
- These figures cover A levels alone. IB, Pre-U and combined-qualification results are kept separately. Teacher-assessed results from 2020–21 are left out unless you choose to include them. Where publications disagree and the difference remains unresolved, both figures stay in the source record and neither enters this comparison.
- Published results describe different groups of pupils, chosen in different ways. They can’t show the effect of attending a school, or what one pupil would achieve.
- Only the years both schools can be compared on are used: 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. A missing or excluded year is not a zero result.
- Fewer than five shared years, which is too few for the period check: it needs five.
- These figures carry the record’s existing source checks, which are kept apart from background links. This edition didn’t reopen every original publication.
- Historical results: the latest shared year is 2026. 2026 counts only where a figure passes this measure’s usual rules.
6 of the 8 recorded figures behind this comparison have an exact source check for that field and year; 2 are recorded or calculated figures with their support set out in Record details. This is not a fresh check of every source.
With research access
What the study means, and what to ask next
With research access, read our interpretation of the differences between the schools, see whether the choice of years changes the answer, and prepare questions for each school. It is added to your briefing with its sources, dates and qualifications.
Research access is open. Each licence’s price and terms are shown on the research access page before you pay.
Shown again, with the terms, before you pay
Where the figures come from
Each record gives the full definition, the documents it came from and what we checked.
St Paul’s School · 2023 · A-level results · 2023
This figure hasn’t been fully checked against the original yet.
Downe House · 2023 · A-level · published record · 2023 · A-level
Checked against the original: A*, A*–A and A*–B.
St Paul’s School · 2024 · A-level results · 2024
Publications differ on A*.
Downe House · 2024 · A-level · published record · 2024 · A-level
Checked against the original: A*, A*–A and A*–B.
St Paul’s School · 2025 · A-level results · 2025
Checked against the original: A*. Not yet checked: A*–A and A*–B.
Downe House · 2025 · A-level · published record · 2025 · A-level
Checked against the original: A*, A*–A and A*–B.
St Paul’s School · 2026 · A-level results · 2026
Checked against the original: A*. Not yet checked: 6 figures, including A*–A, A*–B and candidates.
Downe House · 2026 · A-level · published record · 2026 · A-level
Checked against the original: A*, A*–A and A*–B.